1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable cooling system and, more particularly, to a system for supplying and discharging a flow of cooling air onto the body of a user of the system while the system is carried by the user.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the past, various systems have been proposed for cooling a user's body. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,752, issued Apr. 10, 1990 to Thomas L. Hineson et al., proposes a garment for receiving temperature regulated air from an external air source in the form of an air compressor, which is connected to the garment through a vortex tube, for cooling the air, and a diffusing layer, a control valve being adjustable for controlling the coldness of the air discharged from the vortex tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,320,164, issued Jun. 14, 1994 to Stephen P. Szczesuil et al., describes a body heating/cooling garment which utilizes fluid-carrying tubes and provides both air and vapour permeability to promote convective heat transfer, while also providing conductive heat transfer, with a heating/cooling unit connected to the garment through an umbilical connection line.